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DRIVING THE DAY — TOP BRASS TO TESTIFY ON SEXUAL ASSAULT: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey and the service chiefs are scheduled to testify at 9:30 a.m. before the Senate Armed Services Committee on pending legislation aimed at curbing sexual violence in the military. Dempsey plans to push to keep military commanders involved in launching criminal cases against service members accused of sexual assault.

“You’ll hear from the chairman that we’re committed to eliminating sexual assault from the ranks, that it’s a crime that demands accountability,” Dempsey’s spokesman, Col. Dave Lapan, tells Morning D. “He’ll also talk about the unique role commanders play in military units.”

“The commander’s responsibility to preserve order and discipline is essential,” Lapan adds. “They punish criminals and protect victims when and where no other jurisdiction is capable, or lawfully able to do so. Commanders are accountable for all that goes on in a unit.”

Dempsey is almost certain to be the target of tough questions from lawmakers pushing a proposal that would put prosecutors — not commanders — in charge of deciding when to launch criminal sexual-assault cases. Also testifying this morning: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert Papp.

— The East Coast missile shield will have to wait: In its FY14 NDAA, unveiled yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee took a stand on a number of issues, rejecting the White House’s cost-saving plans for base closures, TRICARE fee hikes and a smaller-than-usual pay raise for troops. One thing the bill does not address: a proposed East Coast missile shield, which Republicans championed last year over the objections of the Obama administration. The contentious issue will likely be addressed during tomorrow’s full-committee markup and resolved once the bill goes to conference.

— The bill would restrict Gitmo transfers: HASC Chairman Buck McKeon included several provisions related to the Guantánamo Bay prison — but closing its doors isn’t among them. Instead, McKeon included language that would forbid the Pentagon from putting funds toward creating or modifying facilities in the United States to house terror suspects currently in Guantánamo. It also would put restrictions on the Pentagon’s ability to transfer prisoners from Guantánamo to the United States or other countries.

— McKeon targets executive pay cap: McKeon is also taking a swipe at the administration’s proposal to lower the limit on the amount agencies pay executives of companies that work for the government. In the bill, the California Republican included a provision that would “exclude the salaries of select contractors’ top five earners from allowable expenses on DoD contracts and freeze the current employee compensation baseline.”

That differs from last week’s White House proposal that would set a $400,000 cap — equal to President Barack Obama’s salary — on reimbursements from the federal government for executive pay. Under current law, companies can ask the federal government to reimburse as much as $763,000 for an executive’s pay.

— The bill would tighten cyber oversight, per POLITICO’s Tony Romm: The bill “would require new studies of U.S. Cyber Command, focused on its authority and posture, while looking more closely at security breaches at either the Pentagon or with its contractors.” More here, for Pros: http://politico.pro/13gSLFe

CONGRESS THROWS COLD WATER ON THINK TANK REFORMS: A coalition of think tanks — the American Enterprise Institute, Brookings and others — was on Capitol Hill yesterday urging DoD spending reforms, such as base closures and a reduction in the Pentagon’s civilian workforce. Meanwhile, HASC was releasing an FY14 NDAA that rejects just about everything the groups were calling for.

And the one member of Congress at the event said there’s little hope his colleagues will include politically unpopular proposals in the NDAA. “Unfortunately the House markup begins this Wednesday, and I think very little if any of the ideas mentioned here today will be included or even offered in that markup,” said HASC Democrat Jim Cooper. “So we have a lot of work to do.”

TOP TALKER: JILL KELLEY SUES DoD AND FBI, by POLITICO’s Breanna Edwards: “Tampa socialite Jill Kelley has filed a lawsuit against the FBI and the Department of Defense for allegedly disregarding her privacy and publicizing false information about her during the David Petraeus scandal. Kelley, whose emails became a part of uncovering Petraeus’ affair with journalist Paula Broadwell, filed the lawsuit Monday at the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., according to court documents from Kelley’s lawyers.

“The lawsuit centers around the FBI and the Department of Defense ‘willfully leak[ing] damaging, false information about the Kelleys.’” http://politi.co/15wiiKS

Kelley, in a written statement: “It was under the faithful direction of our concerned military leaders, that I went to the law enforcement to seek the proper protection for my family, our commanders, and top U.S. officials. But unfortunately, we did not receive the confidentiality and protection. Instead we received highly hurtful and damaging publicity from willful leaks from high level government officials that were false and defamatory.”

OBAMA SIGNS REVISED STOLEN VALOR ACT, via The Associated Press: “The White House says President Obama has signed a bill making it a crime to lie about receiving a military medal. … The measure revives a law struck down by the Supreme Court in 2006. The court said it may be disreputable to lie about receiving a medal, but it’s protected under the First Amendment. The new law is narrower, making it a crime to lie about being decorated with the intent to profit personally or financially.” http://bit.ly/14q1WRl

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IS SYRIA AN F-35 SELLING POINT? With a no-fly zone in Syria gaining some political traction, industry consultant Loren Thompson says the civil war there is evidence of the need for U.S. allies to have stealthy fifth-generation fighter jets. Writing in Forbes, Thompson notes there’s only one operational fifth-generation fighter, Lockheed Martin’s F-22, and any intervention would likely require the use of fourth-generation fighters, such as F-15s and F-16s, made by Boeing and Lockheed, which both give money to Thompson’s think tank.

Currently, he adds, U.S. allies rely on non-stealthy fighters “that Syrian surface-to-air missiles could shoot down in any battle for control of local airspace.” The not-so-suble message: The F-35 could be a good long-term investment for allies in the region. http://onforb.es/14bu65V

WHAT PROS ARE READING:

— REPORT: MORE IRAN SANCTIONS WON’T WORK, by POLITICO’s Leigh Munsil: “On the same day the Obama administration announced additional sanctions against Iran, a new report suggests that piling on such restrictions won’t work.” http://politico.pro/17TKMmD

— HASC TAKES AIM AT DCGS, by POLITICO’s Austin Wright: “The House Armed Services Committee is taking aim at the military’s Distributed Common Ground System — with some caveats.” http://politico.pro/16Fc0Nq

MAKING (LOTS OF) MOVES:

— PANDOLFE GETS JOINT STAFF JOB: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has assigned Navy Vice Adm. Frank Pandolfe as director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff, at the Pentagon. Pandolfe is currently commander of the Sixth Fleet, in Europe. His Navy bio says he led efforts to introduce the LCS to the fleet and helped restart the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyer line.

— HII ANNOUNCES NEW HEAD OF CONTRACTING: Huntington Ingalls Industries has named Don Perkins vice president of contracts and pricing for the company’s shipbuilding division. Perkins most recently was corporate director of contracts at Northrop Grumman Corp. He’s also currently the chairman of the procurement techniques committee at the Aerospace Industries Association.

— SAIC SPINOFF GETS SENIOR VP: SAIC has appointed John Sweeney senior vice president of investor relations for Leidos, the company’s planned national-security spinoff. Sweeney previously worked as an investor relations officer for NASDAQ, Sirona Dental Systems and Weight Watchers International. In a statement, SAIC CFO Mark Sopp said Sweeney will “help give a strong start to Leidos.”

— NORTHROP HIRES NEW VP: Northrop Grumman has hired Heidi Hendrix as vice president of human resources for its Aerospace Systems sector. Hendrix previously worked at Bank of America, most recently as the HR executive for Legacy Asset Servicing.

— LOCKHEED ADDS 2 TO COMMUNICATIONS STAFF: Lockheed Martin has appointed Andrea Greenan vice president of communications for its space systems unit. Jessica Nielsen, meanwhile, has been appointed vice president of communications for Lockheed’s information systems and global solutions division. Greenan, who joined Lockheed last year, succeeds Jan Wrather, who’s retiring after 35 years with the company. And Nielsen came to Lockheed from Dell and previously worked at BAE Systems and General Dynamics.

QUICK HITS:

— Prosecutors in the Bradley Manning trial say the Army private knew the classified documents he’s admitted to giving to WikiLeaks could end up in the hands of U.S. enemies. POLITICO’s Stephanie Gaskell has more on the trial’s opening day: http://politi.co/17SKYT2

— Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. of Breaking Defense is out with a story attempting to explain the complicated concept of AirSea Battle, using a newly released Navy document on the subject. It’s a fascinating but lengthy read: http://bit.ly/133k6ZS. And here’s the Navy document, an unclassified summary of AirSea Battle: http://1.usa.gov/12qC8u4

— ICYMI: Patriot missiles and F-16 fighters are being sent to Jordan for a military exercise but might stay there “to bolster Jordan’s security as violence from the Syrian civil war spreads,” reports CNN’s Barbara Starr. http://bit.ly/15vuH1q

OBIT — FRANK LAUTENBERG: THE SENATE’S LAST WORLD WAR II VET, by POLITICO’s James Hohmann: “Frank Lautenberg’s death Monday at 89 closed a chapter in Senate history: The New Jersey Democrat, who enlisted in the Army at 18 and shipped off to Europe, was the last of 115 senators who served during World War II. … Until last year, three remained. Then Hawaii’s two senators left: Daniel Inouye died, and Daniel Akaka retired.

“Former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), who served in World War II and Korea, ‘choked up a little bit’ when he heard on the radio Monday morning that Lautenberg died. He called it ‘a turning point.’ ‘The linkage of World War II was a material factor in our being able to sit down and find the common ground on things we worked on,’ said Warner, proudly recounting how the two teamed up to pass a post-Sept. 11 GI Bill in 2009.” http://politi.co/13hmhKX

HAGEL, in a statement: “I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Senator Frank Lautenberg, the last World War II veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate. Frank was a good friend and respected colleague. ... His passion and his leadership will be missed.”

DEMPSEY, also in a statement: “A member of the ‘greatest generation,’ his service to our nation began as an 18-year old U.S. Army signal technician in France and Belgium. At the conclusion of the war, Sen. Lautenberg, like many of our great Veterans, took advantage of the GI Bill and attended Columbia University. His education then afforded him the opportunity to continue public service, as he served faithfully as a U.S. senator for his native New Jersey for three decades. Sen. Lautenberg’s commitment and selfless service to our country will not be forgotten.”

THAT’S ALL FOR US. Have a great Tuesday.

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